Articles

Hajj-Mabrur: "Its Meaning and Virtues"
Author : His Grace Shiekh Abdulkareem Al-Khasawneh
Date Added : 20-07-2023

 

 

 

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

 

Hajj-Mabrur: "Its Meaning and Virtues"

 

Narrated by Aisha (May Allah be pleased with her), she said: "O Messenger of Allah, we see Jihad as the best deed. Should we not then strive in Jihad?" He said, "The best Jihad (for women) is Hajj-Mabrur (i.e., one accepted by Allah)." {Transmitted by Bukhari}.

Hajj-Mabrur (The pilgrimage in which a person attains full reward) is the best act of worship in Islam after Jihad in the cause of Allah. This is because it is a cornerstone of the religion and one of the five pillars of Islam, without which Islam cannot be complete. It is obligatory on every adult, sane, free Muslim who is capable and has the provisions and means to undertake the journey.

 

Hajj-Mabrur is the one that is free from sin and showing off, or one in which generosity and good manners are observed. This according to a narration in Musnad Ahmad (a Hajj which is accepted will receive no less a reward than paradise). The Prophet (Peace be upon him) was asked about Hajj-Mabrur, and he replied, "Feeding others and spreading peace."

 

Some scholars explain Hajj-Mabrur as the one free from any sin and An-Nawawi opted for this view. Al-Qurtubi mentioned that the various interpretations of Hajj-Mabrur converge in meaning, and the main point is that it is Hajj performed with all its obligatory rites fulfilled as requested from the performer.

To achieve the forgiveness of sins and the promise of Paradise through Hajj, the following should be adhered to:

 

First: Sincere repentance from all sins and disliked actions, as the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said, "The one who repents from sin is like one without sin." {Transmitted by Ibn Majah}.

 

Second: The expenditure on Hajj and all its requirements should be from halal (lawful) money without any doubt.

Third: Perform Hajj purely for the sake of Allah, seeking His pleasure and nearness. Fulfill any pending obligations and return any deposits to their rightful owners. Write a will, giving rights to Allah, His servants, and bear witness to it.

 

Fourth: Be kind to relatives, mentors, and neighbors. Fulfill the required maintenance for those dependent on the pilgrim until their return.

 

Fifth: Abstain from immoral conduct during Hajj. Avoid arguments and conflicts while purchasing. It is said, "Good conduct during travel includes providing provisions, minimal disputes among companions, good humor except in things that displease Allah, and patience in the face of adversity."

 

Sixth: To bid farewell to one's family, neighbors, relatives, and acquaintances, and to seek their forgiveness and prayers, and to give charity upon departure.

 

Seventh: Frequently remember Allah (Dhikr) during Hajj, as Allah has commanded to remember Him abundantly during the rites of Hajj, including Talbiyah, Takbir, and Tahleel. The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said, "The best Hajj is loud Talbiyah and Takbir." {Transmitted by At-Tirmidhi}.

 

Hajj-Mabrur has numerous virtues, including:

 

First: Forgiveness of sins and wrongdoings, as narrated by Amr ibn Al-'As (May Allah be pleased with him), the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said, "Islam obliterated what preceded it, Hijrah (Emigration for the sake of Allah) obliterates what preceded it, and Hajj-Mabrur obliterates what preceded it." {Transmitted by Muslim}.

 

The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Perform Hajj, for it washes away sins just as water washes away dirt." (Reported by Al-Tibrani in "Al-Mu'jam Al-Awsat").

Second: The reward for spending during Hajj is multiplied by seven hundred times. Buraidah (May Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said, "The spending during Hajj is like the spending in the cause of Allah multiplied by seven hundred."{Transmitted by Ahmad and Tabarani in "Al-Mo`jam Al-Waseet}.

 

Third: The performers of Hajj and Umrah are the delegation of Allah; their supplications are answered, and their repentance is accepted. Narrated by Jabir (May Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said, "The delegation of Allah are three: The fighter in the cause of Allah, the pilgrim, and the Mu'tamir (the one performing Umrah). They will call upon Allah and He will answer them, and they will seek His forgiveness, and He will forgive them." {Transmitted by An-Nasa'i}.

 

Fourth: Allah guarantees Paradise for the performers of Haj and Umrah upon their meeting with Him. Jabir (May Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) said, "Whoever performs Hajj and does not commit sexual misconduct or transgress will return (free from sins) as on the day his mother gave birth to him." {Transmitted by Al-Bukhari}.

 

May Allah grant us complete faith, true certainty, humble hearts, praising tongues, accepted deeds, and Hajj-Mabrur….. Amen.

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Summarized Fatawaa

What is the ruling on swallowing phlegm while fasting?

If a fasting person intentionally swallows phlegm, their fast is invalid, as it is possible to avoid it.
However, if they swallow it unintentionally, their fast remains valid.
Phlegm is impure and should be avoided.

What is the ruling on performing the night prayer (*qiyām al-layl*) between the first and second adhān of Fajr? And which is better: delaying the prayer until shortly before the Fajr adhān, or performing it earlier than that?

 

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
The time for night prayer (qiyām al-layl) begins after the Maghrib prayer and lasts until the second adhān of Fajr. The best time for it is the last third of the night, and best of all are the fourth and fifth sixths of the night. If the night is divided into two halves, the latter half is better.
Whoever intends to pray at night is encouraged to delay the Witr until he has prayed the night prayer. If he knows that he will not wake up, it is better for him to pray and perform Witr before sleeping, so that he does not miss both the night prayer and the Witr.
It is stated in Mughnī al-Muḥtāj (Vpl.1/p.462): “I say: The voluntary prayer of the night, that is, the absolute voluntary prayer (al-nafl al-muṭlaq), is better than the absolute voluntary prayer of the day, because of the report in Muslim: ‘The best prayer after the obligatory prayer is the night prayer.’ In another narration of his: ‘In the night there is an hour that no Muslim man meets while asking Allah for any good of this world and the next except that He gives it to him, and that is every night.’ It is also because the night is a time of heedlessness. I restricted the voluntary prayer to the absolute kind following the commentator, although what the ḥadīth and the underlying meaning require is that the night rawātib be preferred over the day rawātib, since the jurists preferred the two rakʿahs of Fajr over everything except Witr. The middle of the night is better than its two ends if it is divided into thirds, because heedlessness is greatest then and worship is hardest. If he wishes to pray during some third, the best is the fourth and fifth sixths, based on the ḥadīth in the two Ṣaḥīḥs: ‘The most beloved prayer to Allah the Exalted is the prayer of Dāwūd: he would sleep half the night, stand for a third of it, and sleep for a sixth.’ Then the latter part is better than the first if he divides it into two halves, because of the saying of Allah the Exalted: ‘And in the hours before dawn they would ask forgiveness’ [al-Dhāriyāt: 18], and the report of the two Shaykhs: ‘Our Lord, Blessed and Exalted, descends,’ meaning His command descends, ‘to the lowest heaven when the last third of the night remains, and says: Who calls upon Me, that I may answer him? Who asks of Me, that I may give him? Who seeks My forgiveness, that I may forgive him?’”
It is also stated in ʿUmdat al-Sālik (p. 60): “It is better to perform it [the Witr] immediately after the sunnah of ʿIshāʾ, unless he has tahajjud, in which case it is better to delay it so that he performs Witr after it. If he performs Witr and then wishes to pray tahajjud, he prays two rakʿahs at a time and does not repeat the Witr, nor does he need to cancel it with a single rakʿah before the tahajjud. It is recommended that he not deliberately pray after it.”
Qiyām al-layl is a term applied to any prayer performed at night. Tahajjud, on the other hand, refers to the night prayer that follows sleep, whether it is prayed after Maghrib or after ʿIshāʾ, or the prayer performed after ʿIshāʾ without sleep. On this basis, the Witr is also called tahajjud, since it is only prayed after ʿIshāʾ.
It is stated in al-Majmūʿ (Vol.4/p.84): “The sound position, as stated in al-Umm and al-Mukhtaṣar, is that the Witr is called tahajjud.”
It is stated in Nihāyat al-Zayn (Vol.1/p.114): “Among the absolute voluntary prayers is qiyām al-layl. If it is performed after sleep, even during the time of Maghrib and after having prayed ʿIshāʾ early (taqdīman), it is called tahajjud.”
And it is stated in Ḥāshiyat al-Bujayrimī ʿalā al-Khaṭīb (Vol.1/p.418): “His statement: ‘(the night prayer)’: the genitive construction (iḍāfah) carries the sense of fī, meaning a prayer in the night. His statement: ‘(it would be more fitting)’: the reason it is more fitting is that the night prayer includes both tahajjud and other prayers.” And Allah Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling on one who wiped over his leather socks (*khuff*) while resident and then traveled, or wiped while traveling and then became resident? And likewise, what is the ruling on one who incurred a minor ritual impurity (*ḥadath aṣghar*) while resident, then traveled and wiped while traveling?

 

All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
Whoever wipes over his leather socks (khuffayn) while resident and then travels, or wipes while traveling and then becomes resident, before a day and a night have passed in both cases, completes the wiping period of a resident. If he wipes while resident and then travels after a day and a night have passed, he must remove the socks, because the period has ended. Likewise, if he wipes while traveling and then becomes resident after a day and a night have passed, he must remove them as well.
Whoever breaks his wuḍūʾ while resident and then wipes while traveling takes the ruling of a traveler as regards the duration of wiping, so long as he does not become resident. It is stated in ʿUmdat al-Sālik wa ʿUddat al-Nāsik (Vol.1/p.15): “If he wipes over both [socks] or one of them while resident and then travels, or wipes while traveling and then becomes resident, or doubts whether he began the wiping while traveling or while resident, he completes only the wiping period of a resident. But if he broke his wuḍūʾ while resident and wiped while traveling, he completes the period of a traveler, whether or not the full time of a prayer had passed over him while resident.” And Allah Almighty knows best.

What is the ruling on offering the sacrifice (uḍḥiyah) using the wealth of a minor or a legally incompetent person (safīh)?

Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings upon our master, the Messenger of Allah.
It is not permissible for the guardian (walī) of an orphan or a legally incompetent person (safīh) to offer the sacrifice (uḍḥiyah) on behalf of the minor or the safīh using their wealth, because the guardian is charged with exercising caution over their wealth and is prohibited from giving any of it away voluntarily, and the udḥiyah is a voluntary act of charity (tabarru'). The guardian may, however, offer the sacrifice using his own personal wealth. And Allah, the Most High, knows best.